The sword's razor-sharp edge sliced the dummy in half. Zane dropped to the ground, rolling to evade any traps in the Training System. Three arrows whistled overhead. He stood up, then jumped just in time as two more fired at him.
Two more dummies sprung up-one behind him, and one also to his immediate left. He hacked once at the on to the left, chopping it in half. He swung around and cleaved the other in two.
He felt something small and sharp ALMOST slam into the small of his back. He whipped around and grabbed it at the last moment, using the Knife to slash at the newest dummy.
"Nice!" Called Jean from well away. She, along with Katy, Leanne, and Jackson, were hiding so that they weren't hurt.
Zane was a very skilled weapons expert. He could shoot a bow at a target 600 feet away, get a bullseye, then whip around and poke anyone in the pressure point of their neck with a pin in a matter of about 20 seconds. Impressive, right? Yep, for a normal person, but Zane wasn't. Neither were the other 4. They were all part of the Kingdom Corps, a group of skilled warriors and assassins that was divided into groups, typically 3 or 4 for the small groups. The larger ones were 5-7 members! Anything larger was a Juggernaut Team, and they led all-out attacks on villages. Each group was labelled 'Team ____'. This particular group was entitled Team Hellion, befitting for the two weapons experts in the group. They both specialized in curved, wickedly pointed blades. Jackson had actually developed a 'Hellion Arrow', which had a point resembling a Dragon's Tooth. It was best used with Flare Powder smothered on the tip, which caused a powerful burning sensation when it came in contact with skin, and glowed orange when lit on fire. Many people used them for fireworks, which glowed brilliantly.
Katy and Jean were both magicians. They could pull off both custom magic tricks (Take THAT, Bilbo Baggins, for Gandalf lied to you!), and amazing feats (Fireballs, Lightning, the works) of TRUE magic.
Leanne was a sniper. She specialized in her own makeshift weapon that she'd had for years, the Sicarius. It was basically four hollowed out knives (Curved, of course) that, when thrown, returned shortly thereafter. She had made 4 perfect ones, and unless they perfect, they would't work. Sure, they'd spin and stab, but they wouldn't return. She typically used the imperfect ones for up-close encounters. She could, of course, also hit a bullseye from as far away as she could see, but she prefered the Sicarius.
The 5 were all at age 13, did I mention that? They'd been training since they were 7, and training as a team since age 10. After just 6 short months, they were permitted to become an official team and perform the King's assignments.
They all killed with efficiency- possibly the best team in the Kingdom Corps. They competed last year in The Training at the Annual Kingdom Corps Gathering, and won.
The Training was basically The Hunger Games, but it wasn't permitted to break teams. They killed each other to thin the herd, separate the weak from the strong. Typically, it's 5 small teams, 4 large teams, and 1 juggernaut team. Surprisingly, the juggernaut team almost always lost. If no juggernaut team signed up, then another large team was permitted to enter. Team Hellion signed up and won in about 1 1/2 weeks.
Team Hellion was also the youngest team to ever join the Kingdom Corps. Not surprising, considering they were all 13, but still.
Back to the present times.
After Zane was finished, Leanne quickly finished off 17 dummies with her Sicarius before one got to her. When you were touched by a dummy, it was considered a loss. Jackson congratulated her on her quick work, and kissed her while Jean was being sent out.
One more thing: There were two dating relationships in Team Hellion: Jackson & Leanne, and Zane & Jean.
Jean managed about 25 before she was gotten to. Jackson then took out 27 with his Hellion Arrows, and Katy eliminated 24.
They worked up a leaderboard:
1st- Zane 30 2nd- Jackson 27 3rd- Jean 25 4th- Katy 24 5th- Leanne 17 All 5 were shocked- Leanne typically made 1st or 2nd!
